Chapter 48\u00a0<\/p>\n
Teresa immediately followed. \u201cI\u2019ve got a date with a friend.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going home for lunch.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m dieting. I\u2019ll skip lunch.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before Madeleine\u2019s awkward smile had even faded, the four of\u00a0<\/p>\n
them vanished like they were avoiding the plague.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Feeling a little defeated, Madeleine sighed inwardly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just then, her phone buzzed. It was Roderick.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick: \u201cCome over.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The corners of her mouth curved up again as she happily\u00a0<\/p>\n
hurried off to the CEO\u2019s office.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick\u2019s office was spacious and stark, with a cool\u2013toned\u00a0<\/p>\n
decor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When Madeleine pushed the door open, he was bent over his\u00a0<\/p>\n
desk, working through documents.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Noticing her entrance, Roderick looked up briefly. \u201cSit for a\u00a0<\/p>\n
while. Lunch will be brought in soon.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then he paused.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOr\u2026 would you rather I have them send it to your desk, so you\u00a0<\/p>\n
can eat alone?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
If it had been the old Madeleine, she would never have wanted\u00a0<\/p>\n
to eat with him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Back when she was furious, she had once lashed out with cruel\u00a0<\/p>\n
words.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRoderick, just the sight of you makes me sick. I can\u2019t even eat\u00a0<\/p>\n
when you\u2019re around!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That sentence had wounded Roderick deeply for a long time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s eat together,\u201d Madeleine said now. \u201cFood tastes better\u00a0<\/p>\n
when you share it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
After failing in her attempt to bond with the secretaries earlier,\u00a0<\/p>\n
she was already feeling down. If she had to go eat alone now,\u00a0<\/p>\n
she\u2019d only feel more miserable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Though she thought this, she didn\u2019t show it on her face. Instead,\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 43\u00a0<\/p>\n
she looked around curiously at the items on his desk.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There were numerous certificates of honor and trophies\u00a0<\/p>\n
displayed, dazzling her eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Suddenly, her gaze fell on one particular, slightly old trophy,\u00a0<\/p>\n
which was engraved with her own name.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWait, isn\u2019t this the ballet competition trophy I won in eleventh\u00a0<\/p>\n
grade? I remember throwing it away.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She pointed at the glass cabinet, her face full of surprise. \u201cWhy\u00a0<\/p>\n
is it here?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick\u2019s hand, holding his pen, froze. In that instant,\u00a0<\/p>\n
memories from the past exploded in both their minds.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Back in eleventh grade, Madeleine had been training hard for\u00a0<\/p>\n
the annual ballet competition, squeezing in practice even after\u00a0<\/p>\n
exhausting days of study.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She had a formidable rival then. Her name was Leona Harmon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The tension between the two was much stronger than that\u00a0<\/p>\n
between her and Roderick.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leona, a year older, was a gifted and hardworking dancer, her\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 48\u00a0<\/p>\n
skills nearly on par with Madeleine\u2019s.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That citywide competition determined who would qualify for the national. The two of them practiced day and night, each\u00a0<\/p>\n
desperate to claim the spot.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the end, Madeleine narrowly won, taking first place and\u00a0<\/p>\n
earning the chance to represent the city at the national\u00a0<\/p>\n
competition.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But then, rumors spread that her family had bribed the judges\u00a0<\/p>\n
to secure her victory.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When Harold heard, he was furious and tried to dispel the\u00a0<\/p>\n
rumors everywhere, but the more he argued, the harsher the\u00a0<\/p>\n
public backlash became.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRich people are all the same. Poor Leona! Her family sacrificed\u00a0<\/p>\n
everything just to support her dancing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel so sorry for Leona. How could someone like Madeleine\u00a0<\/p>\n
even deserve to dance?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cUnbelievable. To think I\u2019m in the same class as her makes me\u00a0<\/p>\n
sick.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 48\u00a0<\/p>\n
The blow crushed Madeleine. She burned with fever for days,\u00a0<\/p>\n
aching so badly that she couldn\u2019t get out of bed, and ultimately\u00a0<\/p>\n
missed the national competition.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But there was one thing she never told anyone. What\u00a0<\/p>\n
devastated her most was seeing Roderick comforting Leona\u00a0<\/p>\n
with her own eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Though the two of them had bickered endlessly since\u00a0<\/p>\n
childhood, anyone could see they were a pair of \u201cfrenemies\u201c.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine had believed, at the very least, that he trusted her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But that day, she was bitterly disappointed. That night, she\u00a0<\/p>\n
threw the trophy away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not long after, the school was abuzz with rumors that Roderick\u00a0<\/p>\n
and Leona were together. Madeleine never cared to find out\u00a0<\/p>\n
whether it was true. Her relationship with Roderick only grew\u00a0<\/p>\n
more distant.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even now, recalling those events, Madeleine felt her chest\u00a0<\/p>\n
tighten with a sour ache.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRicki.\u201d Her voice was dry as she fixed her eyes on him. \u201cThis\u00a0<\/p>\n
trophy\u2026 why is it here?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick\u2019s grip on the pen tightened slightly, his fingertips\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 48\u00a0<\/p>\n
turning pale. Suddenly, he loosened his hold, set the pen down\u00a0<\/p>\n
on the desk, and stood up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI picked it up.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou picked it up? I threw it in the trash. You went dumpster\u00a0<\/p>\n
diving for it?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A flicker of barely noticeable embarrassment flashed in\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick\u2019s eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He got up, showing a trace of that familiar roguishness\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine knew so well.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat, I\u2019m not allowed to have a hobby of picking through\u00a0<\/p>\n
trash?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said gruffly as he moved closer to her. In an instant, his\u00a0<\/p>\n
familiar scent enveloped her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine looked into his eyes, unable to tell if this was the\u00a0<\/p>\n
teenage Roderick, or the man in his twenties standing before\u00a0<\/p>\n
her\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella\u2019s storytelling style is immersive and addictive\u2014perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.<\/p>\n
Night Carved Paths Into Silence by Zyrel Ash 48 Chapter 48\u00a0 Teresa immediately followed. \u201cI\u2019ve got a date with a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-heart-surgeons-last-patient-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29311"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29311\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}